Daily Archives: 1 Dec 2015

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

1 Dec 2015

Posted under

Clyst St Mary

Press release from Save Clyst St Mary: extra traffic on roads

“CALLING ALL USERS OF THE EXMOUTH A376 AND SIDMOUTH A3053 ROADS …

How many times do you get to the Clyst St George and Clyst St Mary roundabouts and groan at the length of the queues? Worryingly, if current plans to over-develop the village of Clyst St Mary by nearly 120% are allowed to go ahead, there could be over 700 more cars joining you at those already-congested junctions every day. To object to such potential time-consuming chaos please:

1 Go to: http://www.saveclyststmary.org.uk CLICK HERE
2 Add your, address and email address
3 Press ‘Submit’ for your letter to be automatically sent to East Devon District Council.

Please note: the Save Clyst St Mary Campaign is not ‘anti-development’. All we want is for development numbers to be kept in proportion for a village of this size and for future building to be restricted to brown-field sites. Please support us!
http://www.saveclyststmary.org.uk”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

1 Dec 2015

Posted under

DCC, Devolution, EDDC, Somerset County Council

Conflicting views on Devon/Somerset devolution

Tories gung-ho on the prospect of East Devon being am ” economic powerhouse”

“An EDDC spokesperson said: “If a successful bid is negotiated with the Government, then it is likely that the strategic importance of East Devon as a prime location for growth, jobs and housing will be recognised and we will see more investment into our local economy.”

Indie more cautious:

“Councillor Matt Booth has urged caution on rushing into any deal. The independent ward member for Sidmouth Town told the Herald: “It’s a huge ask and a huge task – it has to fit in with the financial plans of 16 other local authorities.

“I’m not for it. I think that it is just another way for central government to wash its hands of its responsibilities.

“If central government did its job properly, there wouldn’t be any need for devolution.

“But if we do go ahead, then as councillors we need to find a way to keep the process open and a way to bring it back to members.”

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/economic_powerhouse_promise_of_devolution_1_4326893

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

1 Dec 2015

Posted under

DCC, Devolution, EDDC

Comments

1 Comment

EDDC special meeting on devolution tomorrow (Wednesday) at 3 pm

Thanks to Martin Shaw of Seaton Matters for this important information. Why schedule it for a time when many people will, of necessity, be at work?

“Our county and district councils are steaming ahead with proposals for devolution in the daftly named ‘Heart of the South West’ (that’s Devon and Somerset to you and me) to be agreed on 18 December and then submitted to Government. They hope it will all be done and dusted by March. Apart from an odd piece in the local press, what do most people know about this? I’d always thought that ‘devolution’ was about more democracy, not less.

On

Wednesday 2nd December, at 3pm,

EDDC has scheduled a special extra meeting of Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the sole opportunity for the press and public to be present at a devolution discussion.

This will prepare the ground for the Cabinet Committee at 5.30pm when EDDC Leader’s delegated powers for ‘Heart of the South West’ are expected to be pushed through.
http://seatonmatters.org/2015/11/30/sw-devolution-when-do-we-have-our-say/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

1 Dec 2015

Posted under

EDDC, EDDC HQ, Skypark

Revised EU tendering thresholds

For those who understand these things (the figures at which tendering must follow strict rules on open access for contracts and contractors). This is the rule that EDDC fell foul of when attempting to relocate to Skypark.

“The European Commission has announced revised procurement thresholds that will apply from 1 January 2016.
The new thresholds, which will be in place for two years, are:

Supplies and services (central government and Schedule 1): €135,000 (£106,047);

Supplies and services (sub-central government): €209,000 (£164,176);

Works contracts: €5,225,000 (£4,104,394).

The threshold for social and other specific services (the light touch regime) will stay at €750,000 but currency changes mean this is worth £589,148.

The threshold for public concessions contracts is €5,225,000 (£4,104,394). In this respect Mills & Reeve’s Procurement Portal noted how the new Concessions Directive has not yet been implemented in the UK, although the draft Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 have been published and are due to come into force on 18 April 2016.”

http://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25276:brussels-revises-procurement-thresholds-applicable-from-january-2016&catid=53&Itemid=21

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

1 Dec 2015

Posted under

Asset sweating

Watch out Leisure East Devon – supermarkets may poach your customers!

“Supermarkets will soon be offering customers a workout
with their weekly shop by installing gyms. Both Tesco and
Sainsbury’s hope the initiative will utilise spare space in some bigger stores and increase footfall as the price war rages.

Sainsbury’s is to open gyms in three larger stores next year, including a 12,000 sq ft fitness centre in its Deepdale branch in Preston, Lancashire. Further openings are planned for Sainsbury’s stores in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and Hinckley in Leicestershire and it is hoping to link up with a budget gym operator for the projects.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said the addition of gyms
offering customers a workout with their weekly shop by
installing gyms. Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s hope the initiative will utilise spare space in some bigger stores and increase footfall as the price war rages.

Sainsbury’s is to open gyms in three larger stores next year, including a 12,000 sq ft fitness centre in its
Deepdale branch in Preston, Lancashire. Further
openings are planned for Sainsbury’s stores in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and Hinckley in Leicestershire and it is hoping to link up with a budget gym operator for the projects. A Sainsbury’s spokesman said the addition of gyms
to stores was part of a wider plan to make use of
excess space in its 23million sq ft estate. Half the
space will be used to sell own-brand non-food items and the other half opened up to concessions.

Tesco has partnerships with several gym chainsto stores was part of a wider plan to make use of excess space in its 23million sq ft estate. Half the space will be used to sell own-brand non-food items and the other half opened up to concessions.”

Source: Metro online newspaper